Ultimate Cambodia: Self-Launched 14-Day Adventure

Land at Phnom Penh International Airport (Tuk-tuk to the riverside/hostel area is $7-8, or use the PassApp/Grab app for ~$4). Check into a guesthouse around Street 240 or the riverside, then take an evening orientation walk along Sisowath Quay. Grab dinner at a street-food stall or the night market near Wat Phnom. Easiest way to sort onward travel is to book your bus to Battambang at your guesthouse or via the Virak Buntham / Giant Ibis websites.

🚌Airport tuk-tuk ~£3-6

🛏Guesthouse or hostel dorm around Street 240 or riverside (~£10-14/night)

• →Riverside orientation walk
• →Night market dinner
• →Book Battambang bus

Do the dark-history day independently rather than in a tour group: hire a tuk-tuk for the half day (~$25-30 total, or ~$8 if you share) to Choeung Ek (Killing Fields) and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21). Entry at Choeung Ek is ~$6 including an excellent audio guide, and S-21 entry is ~$5 plus ~$3 for audio. In the afternoon visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (~$10) and/or the National Museum (~$10), then browse the Russian Market. Book a GetYourGuide or Klook guided combination tour if you'd rather have a local historian explain things (£15-25).

🚌Half-day tuk-tuk hire ~£6-10 shared

🛏Guesthouse or hostel dorm (~£10-14/night)

• →Choeung Ek Killing Fields (£5)
• →Tuol Sleng S-21 (£4)
• →Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda (£8)
• →Russian Market

Take a morning minivan or bus from Phnom Penh to Battambang (5-6 hours, ~$10-13, bookable via 12Go, Virak Buntham or at your guesthouse). Check into a guesthouse near the river. In the late afternoon explore the colonial-era streets and hire a bicycle or tuk-tuk to the Bamboo Train (Norry, ~$5 plus $5 for the ride) and Phnom Sampeau bat caves for the sunset exodus of millions of bats (~$3 entry). Battambang has some of Cambodia's best-value guesthouses and street food.

🚌Minivan Phnom Penh to Battambang ~£8-10

🛏Guesthouse near the riverside (~£9-13/night)

• →Bamboo Train (Norry)
• →Phnom Sampeau bat caves sunset
• →Colonial architecture walk

Morning countryside loop by bicycle or tuk-tuk: rice paddies, villages and the hilltop temple of Wat Banan (~$10-15 tuk-tuk). Alternatively take a half-day Khmer cooking class with lunch (~$18-25, bookable through GetYourGuide or locally at Smokin' Pot or Nary Kitchen). In the afternoon catch a minivan or bus to Siem Reap (3 hours, ~$7-9). Settle into a hostel or guesthouse in the Wat Bo / Old Market area and check out Phare Circus if it's performing (~$18-35, book directly or via Klook).

🚌Minivan Battambang to Siem Reap ~£6-8

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Wat Bo area (~£10-16/night)

• →Countryside bicycle loop
• →Optional Khmer cooking class
• →Optional Phare Circus

Buy your Angkor pass directly at the Angkor Enterprise ticket office or online (1-day ~$37, 3-day ~$62) and do the temples yourself with a tuk-tuk driver hired for the day (~$18-25). Start at Angkor Wat for sunrise, then Bayon, Ta Prohm and Baphuon. For context, a GetYourGuide/Klook small-group guided Angkor day with an English-speaking guide and hotel pickup runs ~£25-35 and is often better value than a private guide. Staying for a 3-day pass makes sense if you want to spread the temples out and add Banteay Srei or the Roluos group.

🚌Full-day tuk-tuk hire ~£12-18 (splittable)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Wat Bo area (~£10-16/night)

• →Angkor Wat sunrise
• →Bayon
• →Ta Prohm
• →Baphuon

Second temple day: hire a tuk-tuk to Angkor Thom, Preah Khan and Neak Pean, or head further afield to Banteay Srei (~$25-30 tuk-tuk). In the afternoon take a half-day boat trip on Tonlé Sap to Kompong Khleang floating village (~$20-25, bookable locally). In the evening eat at New Hope Cambodia (the vocational training restaurant G Adventures uses) or another NGO-run training restaurant — meals are ~$5-8 and support a good cause. Old Market / Pub Street for a cheap beer after.

🚌Tuk-tuk hire ~£15

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Wat Bo area (~£10-16/night)

• →Banteay Srei or Preah Khan
• →Tonlé Sap floating village boat trip
• →New Hope vocational restaurant dinner

Long travel day: buses from Siem Reap to Kratie take 7-9 hours with a change in Kampong Cham or via Phnom Penh (~$15-20). Alternatively split it and break the journey. Arrive in Kratie, a sleepy Mekong town, and book a sunset or morning boat trip to see the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins at Kampi (~$9 entry to the dolphin area plus ~$9-12 per boat, shared). Guesthouses are simple but cheap and riverside.

🚌Bus Siem Reap to Kratie ~£12-16

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Kratie (~£8-12/night)

• →Kampi dolphin boat trip
• →Mekong sunset

Morning dolphin trip if you missed it, then a short local bus or minivan down the Mekong to Kampong Cham (2-3 hours, ~$5-7). Hire a bicycle (~$2-3/day) and explore the countryside: the 11th-century Vat Nokor temple and the ancient Naga bridge of Jayavarman VII at Spean Praptos. There's also a laid-back riverside promenade with cheap food stalls — Kampong Cham is one of the cheapest and least touristy stops on this route.

🚌Local bus Kratie to Kampong Cham ~£4-6

🛏Budget hotel near the river (~£9-13/night)

• →Vat Nokor temple
• →Spean Praptos ancient bridge
• →Bicycle countryside exploration

Take a morning bus from Kampong Cham to Phnom Penh (~$5-8, 3 hours) and connect onward to Kampot (~$8-10, 4 hours), or book a through ticket via Virak Buntham or 12Go. It's a full day of travel, so arrive in Kampot in the evening, check into a guesthouse near the river, and eat at one of the excellent cheap riverside restaurants. Kampot is a mellow base for the next two days.

🚌Buses via Phnom Penh ~£11-14 total

🛏Guesthouse near the Kampot river (~£9-14/night)

• →Riverside evening stroll

Rent a scooter (~$5-7/day) or bicycle and do the countryside loop: a pepper farm tour at La Plantation or Sothy's Pepper Farm (~$5 plus tasting), the salt fields, and lunch in Kep on the crab market (~$5-8 for a crab). Optional afternoon at Kep beach or a boat trip to Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay, ~$8 return). Sunset cruise on the Kampot river is ~$6-8. Bokor National Park is a half-day trip by scooter or shared taxi if you want the old French hill station and mountain views (~$15-20).

🚌Scooter or bicycle rental ~£4-6

🛏Guesthouse near the Kampot river (~£9-14/night)

• →Kampot pepper farm tour
• →Kep crab market
• →Kampot river sunset cruise
• →Optional Rabbit Island

Bus or share taxi from Kampot to Sihanoukville (2-3 hours, ~$6-9), then catch the Koh Rong ferry from Serendipity or Ochheuteal pier (~$25 return, ~45 minutes, book on arrival or ahead via the ferry companies). Arrive on Koh Rong and check into a beach bungalow or guesthouse — the further you go from Koh Touch the cheaper and quieter it gets. Spend the afternoon swimming and doing nothing much at all.

🚌Bus to Sihanoukville ~£6 + return ferry ~£20

🛏Beach bungalow or guesthouse on Koh Rong (~£12-20/night)

• →Beach swimming
• →Sunset on the sand

A full day of island time. Options: kayak rental (~$5-8/hour), hike to the quieter Sok San or Long Set beaches, snorkelling or fishing boat trips from the pier (~$10-20), or a boat trip to Koh Rong Sanloem. Bioluminescent plankton swims are a popular evening activity (~$10). Food on the island is pricier than the mainland but still manageable if you eat at local shacks rather than resorts.

🚌On foot / no transport needed

🛏Beach bungalow or guesthouse on Koh Rong (~£12-20/night)

• →Kayaking
• →Hiking to Long Set beach
• →Snorkelling boat trip
• →Bioluminescent plankton swim

Morning ferry back to Sihanoukville, then the bus or a shared minivan to Phnom Penh (4-5 hours, ~$10-13, bookable via 12Go or Virak Buntham). In the late afternoon take a cyclo (three-wheeled bicycle rickshaw) tour of the city centre — ~$8-10 for an hour — around the Royal Palace, Wat Phnom and the riverside. Riverside cafés for dinner and a last look at the Mekong.

🚌Ferry ~£10 + bus Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh ~£8-10

🛏Guesthouse or hostel dorm around Street 240 or riverside (~£10-14/night)

• →Cyclo tour of Phnom Penh
• →Riverside cafés

Final morning: if time allows, visit Wat Phnom or pick up last souvenirs at the Russian Market or Central Market before heading to the airport. Tuk-tuk to the airport ~$7-8 or ~$4 via PassApp. If your flight is later in the day, a Khmer cooking class or a massage (~$8-15) makes a nice send-off.

🚌Tuk-tuk to airport ~£3-6

🛏N/A — departure day

• →Wat Phnom
• →Russian Market shopping